Running trails in Gatlinburg, TN
Gatlinburg has 3 trails in the directory — 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 1 open 24 hours. 1 of them posts opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 3,352 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Gatlinburg Trail Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 3,075 reviews
Dog-friendly park featuring a wooded 3.8-mi. roundtrip path with river views & a footbridge.
Porters Creek Trail Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 184 reviews
Natural area, featuring a cabin and waterfalls along gravel trails.
Twin Creeks Trail Trailhead
4.6 ★★★★★ 93 reviews
Easy, well-traveled 4.5-mile round-trip trail through the woods, with a preserved 1880s cabin.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Gatlinburg
- Match the surface to your legs. Most of what's here is mixed (2 of 3). Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More mixed trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 1 trail here is a loop, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Gatlinburg is Gatlinburg Trail Trailhead at 4 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 1 trail in Gatlinburg is open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 1 of the 3 listing carries posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking and 2 have restrooms in Gatlinburg. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 that runners describe as quiet and 1 dog-friendly. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Gatlinburg trails by type
Running trails near Gatlinburg
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.